Hey Amy! » sweets

Orange Drizzle Bars

Amy — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 10:33:23 +0000

I finally got to bake this weekend. It’s been a crazy four weeks in my life and unfortunately, something had to give. I almost forgot what the kitchen looked like (insert pout here)!

With many recipes on deck to try, I decided to go for a lemon drizzle bar with a small change–insert orange in place of lemon. The results are terrific! Try grapefruit, lime or your favorite citrus.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
generous 3/4 c. baker’s sugar
2/3 c. butter
finely grated rind of 1 medium orange
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. milk
1 1/4 c. 10x sugar, plus additional for dusting
1/4 c. fresh orange juice

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 7-inch square cake pan and dust with flour.

Put eggs, sugar and butter in a bowl and beat until smooth and fluffy. Stir in the rind, then fold in the flour lightly and evenly. Stir in the milk, mixing evenly, then spoon into the prepared cake pan.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove and stand the pan on a cooling rack.

While cooling, make the syrup by heating gently together the 10x sugar and orange juice. Stirring gently until sugar dissolves. Do not boil.

Prick the warm cake all over with a fork and spook the hot syrup evenly over the top, letting it be absorbed. Take your time with this step. Cool completely in the pan, then turn out the cake, cutting into pieces. Dust with 10x sugar before serving.

The orange used for the rind made exactly 1/4 c. orange juice. Let me know what fruit you use. Enjoy!

xo–me

Marshmallow Cream Fudge

Amy — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:05:48 +0000

I have found a fellow lover of marshmallow cream who seems to love it as much as I! We share stories of how our mother’s didn’t want us to get into the jar for fear we would devour the entire contents with a spoon and a smile. I found this recipe in Nany’s stash and tried it a few years ago. It’s creamy and heavenly and quite easy to make. Cat this recipe is for you!

Ingredients:

1 13-oz. jar marshmallow cream
1 1/2 c. sugar
2/3 evaporated milk
1/4 c. butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1 12-oz pkg. chocolate bits
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional, I don’t mix nuts with my chocolate)
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine marshmallow cream, sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil 5 minutes continuing to stir constantly. Remove from heat and add chocolate bits. Stir until melted. Add nuts and vanilla. Pour into greased 8″ square pan. Chill until firm. Cut and devour!

You must try this recipe because as we all know, Nany knows a good recipe.

xo–me

Caramel Pecan Cheesecake

Amy — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 12:30:17 +0000

Oh sin. Sin to my taste buds. Sin to my New Year’s resolutions. Sin, sin, sin. But boy does it feel good going down. This recipe is pure sin. I have only made it once because I couldn’t stop helping myself to just a ‘sliver‘. Well 12 slivers equals about 4 pieces! Shame on me for wanting to be face down in this cheesecake, eating my way to freedom! It really is that good.

Ingredients:

1 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
20 caramel candies (get the big bag so you have something to snack on while you are creating)
2 Tbsp. milk
1/2 c. pecans, chopped
1 graham cracker pie crust
liquid chocolate sauce

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Set aside. Melt caramels with milk over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Stir in pecans. Spread caramel mixture over the pie crust. Spread cream cheese mixture over the caramel mixture. Bake for 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Allow to cool then refrigerate for 3 hours. Drizzle top with chocolate sauce.

I told you. It’s sinful, right?

xo–me

Snowball Crunch

Amy — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:27:09 +0000

The last of my recipes this week around snow is the Snowball Crunch. It’s another simple recipe that you can do with the kids when they have a snow day from school. Big thanks to Aunt Barb for the great recipes!

Ingredients:

1 c. softened butter
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/4 c. sugar
1/4. powdered sugar
1 c. chopped pecans (or not, I don’t care for nuts in sweets)
2 c. sifted flour

Preheat oven to 300. Mix butter, vanilla, and sugar until creamy. Add nuts and flour. Pinch off dough and roll into ping pong ball-sized snowballs. Bake for 35 minutes until golden brown. While still warm, roll in powdered sugar. Begin ‘throwing’ them in your mouth!

xo–me

Snow Pops

Amy — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:26:01 +0000

As we continue to salute the cold stuff falling from the sky, I am excited to share this recipe. It is so simple that kids can lead the way in the kitchen. Nothing beats their sense of pride when they are the teacher and you are the student.

Ingredients:

1 bag of marshmallows
popsicle sticks
1 bar white chocolate
white sprinkles

Melt chocolate over medium heat, stirring constantly. Secure marshmallow on end of stick. Dip top half of marshmallow in chocolate and then toss with sprinkles. Devour!

You can substitute milk or white chocolate as well as flavored crystals. I sometimes use mint crystals with dark chocolate. Sinful!

xo–me

Peanut Butter Heaven

Amy — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:08:26 +0000

I love peanut butter. I love it on bread, bananas, graham crackers, a spoon. My friend from church, Mrs. Honadel, told me recently that women should eat one tablespoon of peanut butter every day as it aids in heart health. Thanks Mrs. Honadel for the tip!

This recipe is so simple, your kids can make it with your supervision. You can whip it up at the last minute when your husband/boyfriend/child says “Oh I need to take something to school/work tomorrow” and its bedtime. I call it heaven becuase it sure tastes like it and it has some of my favorite ingredients. You will need a candy thermometer and you can get one rather inexpensive at Target or your supermarket.

Ingredients:

1 lb. package powdered sugar
5 oz. can evaporated milk
12 oz. jar creamy peanut butter
7 oz. jar marshmallow creme

In a large sturdy saucepan, combine sugar and milk and cook over medium heat until candy thermometer reaches 240. Stir constantly while the temperature is rising. Remove from heat, blend in peanut butter and marshmallow creme. Pour into greased 13 x 9 baking dish and chill until set. Cut into squares and indulge!

I have made these and cut them into teeny squares to use as a dipper into chocolate at a fondue party.

xo–me